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Seed bombs, margarine tubs and wafer thin mints

I’m not one of nature's rebels. The sad truth is I make Gloria Hunniford look like a wild child.

I’ve always been this way. I can still remember spending two hours
hiding under my brother’s bed in tears so shamed was I at taking an After Eight mint
without asking permission first (pretty crazy behaviour, I think you’ll
agree – not only theft but also trespassing on a sibling’s territory).

So, you can imagine my trepidation at the idea of making bombs with
the kids in the kitchen. Before MI5 decide to make a surprise visit to
my sleepy Cambridgeshire village, I should probably clarify that these
were seed bombs. I’d been sent a packet of this from Hen & Hammock.
To be honest, I rarely review anything on the site but I rather like
the stuff H&H sell and, quite frankly, it’s something to do with the
kids inside (which is becoming quite important given the recent
deluge).

So what did I think?

Well, first, the packaging is far too tasteful for kids. This sat on
the kitchen counter for a couple of weeks without any of my three
children saying “What’s that?, No, not that, that! Is it for us? Is it a
present? Can we eat it? Can we open it? Let us open it! We want to
open it NOW!”.

However, it has the world ‘bomb’ on it, which does give it a certain
appeal to the destructive nature of most kids, plus, the chance to get
messy. You empty the clay pellets and compost mix into a bowl, sprinkle
on the seeds and add water. Then it’s simply a case of moulding your
mix into small balls ready for hurling, and finally….

So, OK, that ‘…’ may have gone on for some time. The truth is I’m
rather easily distracted and a little forgetful. Having first left the
‘bombs’ overnight to dry, I put them into an old margarine tub (just to
keep them safe) and then promptly forgot all about them. It doesn’t
help that, in our house, old margarine tubs are used for pretty much
keeping anything in – screws, beads, bolognaise sauce, Sylvanian
accessories – in fact almost anything except margarine, so it kind of
blended into the background.

Two weeks later I opened it, found half the seeds had germinated,
felt guilty and, rather than doing anything about it, just put the lid
back on (it was the After Eight incident all over again, except without
the marathon blubbing session).

Another week went by and I saw the margarine tub once more (I may
have been looking for bolognaise sauce at the time… or a Sylvanian
stethoscope – I can’t recall) and this time I took action, decisive
action. I handed it to my daughter and told her to fling them in the
playground – or maybe in that garden which looks a little bare (but make
sure no-one was looking in case she got in trouble).

So yes, this is a lovely present to give to a child (and not badly
priced at £6). It has no garish or excessive packaging and gives
children the chance to get messy, throw bombs and, hopefully, look out
for the bee-friendly species that will arise in their wake. Just don’t
give it to anyone who is forgetful, too cheap to invest in decent
Tupperware or who finds stealing wafer thin mints a guilt-ridden
nightmare.

PS If you want to have a go at making some homemade seed bombs, there are some instructions all over the internet (just make very sure you include the word 'seed' in your search) - such as here or here.